FMCSA pulls $160 million from Calif. over non-domiciled CDLs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Jan. 7 it is withholding nearly $160 million from California for failing to cancel 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses by the previously announced Jan. 5 deadline. 

“It’s reckoning day for [Gov.] Gavin Newsom and California,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Our demands were simple: follow the rules, revoke the unlawfully-issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers, and fix the system so this never happens again.”

Duffy first threatened to withdraw funding in late September when he announced an emergency final rule restricting non-citizens’ ability to obtain a CDL. That rule is now on hold following a court challenge.

In November, California announced plans to revoke the CDLs, effective Jan. 5. In late December, a class action lawsuit was filed against California over these plans. Several days later, California announced it was extending the cancellation date to March 6. 

Duffy then took to social media, accusing Newsom of lying and saying there was no extension of the Jan. 5 deadline. 

FMCSA’s Jan. 7 notification letter to Newsom and Steve Gordon, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, provided additional insight into the parties’ recent interactions.

In November, FMCSA accepted California’s plan to rescind the 17,000 noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs and learner’s permits within the agreed-upon deadline. To keep their licenses, drivers must present evidence of lawful presence that is valid through the expiration date of their CDL. 

In addition, 1,600 CDLs were issued to Mexican and Canadian nationals ineligible to hold a non-domiciled CDL.

FMCSA said that on Dec. 18, it advised the DMV “that any extension of the initial January 5, 2026 revocation deadline must be submitted in writing.” On Dec. 24, the DMV informed the FMCSA that the deadline needed to be extended to March “to allow time for the parties to work through the compliance process and FMCSA’s requested follow-up inquiries.”

California then announced the March deadline despite not receiving approval, the letter said. 

“We will not accept a corrective plan that knowingly leaves thousands of drivers holding noncompliant licenses behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks in open defiance of federal safety regulations,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs. 

Two trucking groups were quick to praise the enforcement action against California. 

“The days of exploiting cheap labor on the basis of false ‘driver shortage’ claims are over,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. “OOIDA and truckers across America support the Trump administration’s actions to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs. For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk.” 

“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s roadways depends on consistent application and enforcement of commercial driver licensing standards nationwide. USDOT has raised ongoing concerns over the past several months that certain California-issued licenses did not fully comply with federal CDL requirements, posing potential risks to public safety,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear “We call on California authorities to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to expedite this process to ensure only qualified drivers with properly-issued CDLs are permitted to operate.”